Monday, February 28, 2011

Why? Because I went temporarily insane on Saturday. I was goofing around, you see, and all of a sudden I was struck by the most intense desire to rearrange all of the furniture in my office. It was like lightning. I got goosebumps, and then I jumped up and started just--doing it.

There were two main reasons. 1) My rack of beads is in front of a window, and I don't want anything to fade. 2) I need more space to bead.

So I have relegated the desk I've used since I was thirteen to be the new printer desk. (Three printers, a scanner, and paper and speakers and bill racks...yes, I need an entire desk just for printers.) And now I'm using a higher desk with a bit more storage space for stuff.

I'm still getting used to having alllll this space. It's kind of luxurious. I can spread out a little more, and there's a teensy lip at the edge so beads don't roll off.

Even better? I'm using the keyboard drawer as my wire/tool stash! This, more than anything, has been a dream come true. I have waaaay too many pliers, and they took up so much room on top of the desk. Having them in the keyboard tray is fantabulous.

I think the most momentous part of this rearranging is the decision to let the biggest desk be the jewelry desk. It's a renewed commitment of sorts.

I need to clean out my beads and get into the habit of making jewelry every day again. I think this is a good first step!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

One of the other treasures I brought home from my trip was something I've been eyeballing for a long time.

Did you guess what they are?

They're boot buttons. Actual Victorian-era boot buttons. They're made out of shell, and they're tiny. I fell in love with the color and the look first, and then when I heard the history, they became irresistible. They're just so intriguing to hold in my hand.

Fashion is an interesting beast. It changes from day to day. One day we're wearing high laced boots with tens of fiddly little buttons; the next, slip-on clogs. I love seeing the bits and bobs of things that were left by the wayside as we progressed to the next trend. That's part of the reason vintage beads and cabochons intrigue me so much. I get to see the colors that used to be the Must Have. The shapes of yesteryear.

I can't wait to use these in a design. In fact, I might save some just for myself, and add in a few Mercury dimes from my hoard. I think they'd look great together.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

I have a lot of beads. No, really. A lot of beads. I store my beads in 18 compartment fishing tackle containers, and at this moment, I have 75+ of them. And in many cases, there are more than one type of bead in each compartment.

I'm thinking that a little spring cleaning is in order. I had a great conversation with a dear friend of mine, who is also a jewelry designer, and we talked about how different the beading world is nowadays. How it's grown up so much, how it's beginning to align itself with the fashion industry so much more. And we talked about how some beads stay in style forever, and how some bead trends are a flash in the pan. Which got me to thinking about how I have oodles of some beads, and their time has passed, or I've learned through trial and error that they're just not that versatile.

Example?

Long baroque pearls with offset holes.

Sure, they're gorgeous. And they're pearls, and I love pearls, and buyers of jewelry love pearls, too. But they're a bit impractical, except for very specific designs, like this one:

I've made other jewelry with them, but it's a challenge. Which leads me to think that a spring cleaning is in order. I think I'm going to go through all of the containers and find beads that I'm just not going to use.

That's the good thing about having a bead business as well as a jewelry business; I'll just bag up the pearls and sell them at the next few shows.

Monday, February 21, 2011

I like the colors and the textures and the shapes. I like sorting them and looking at them and buying them. I like stringing them, too, of course, but one of the best moments for me is when I bring new beads home and get to put them away.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

So. I totally meant to post while I was on my business trip. I brought my laptop with me and also a selection of photos.

Alas, it was not meant to be. Within twenty-four hours of arriving in Wisconsin, I was sick. Sick, sick, sick. I could barely drag myself out of bed to do the things that had to be done. It was not an auspicious beginning to the trip.

It took two weeks before I was well enough to even consider doing something besides the main task. I had to concentrate on breathing, honestly. It took a lot of time and energy. I did manage to tweet, but then it turned out that my phone ate all of the tweets. I was wondering why no one was replying.

Anyway, once I finally felt better, then the trip went into overdrive and I didn't have a lot of time. And now that I've returned, I'm just swimming in beads. OODLES of beads. Delicious, amazing, straight-from-the-Tucson-gem-shows beads. Red creek jasper, lodalite quartz, opalized ammonites, bloodstone, silver leaf jasper...it's all so delicious and amazing that I can't wait to design new things.

I also bought a closeout of vintage cabochons. Most of the cabs I've had before, but there are a few new ones that are making me giddy with delight because they're so beautiful. I'm so excited to start listing!

And then it was time to leave for Michigan. Always sad, because I will miss my WI friends so much. Still, it was wonderful to see the Chicago Skyway...

It's the gateway back to Michigan. I love the old-school lettering and the toll booth attendants and the press of cars, all scrunched up and waiting to get back on the open road again.

And now I'm home. Time to set up the photography studio. Wait until you see the new yums I've found!